stateofzen

Great results!

I'm in maintenance, but would love the company on myfitnesspal-- stateofzen

I'm very happy for you Cazzy. Here's to the easiest recovery possible.

Thank you all-- you're right, I want to wait. To be clear, my husband is fine with my body-- but he knows how much it is bothering me. He's sweet like that.

This is very good. I'd add this: Don't be lazy and assume that every health-related problem I have must be attributable to my obesity. I had a painful repeated miscarriage history that I was told was because I was obese. It motivated me to have surgery, which I have been successful with, so there was a blessing there. But ultimately, my miscarriages had nothing to do with being fat and couldn't be treated with lapband surgery-- something my doctor would have known through looking more carefully at my genetic tests rather than just assuming it could be laid at the feet of my weight.

I have decided I'm definitely getting a breast lift and a TT. I did the first consult last summer to get an idea of the cost ($11,000 if I do them both at the same time, or $6000 each if I do them at different times- I'm in Alabama, so things are apparently cheaper here). At the time, I was sure I wasn't done losing weight, but I have been at 158 for a solid year now, so my dreams of losing 20 more are pretty much dead in the Water and that is no longer a reason to put it off. My husband and I originally agreed that the best time for this would be at the end of next summer. First, it will take me until then to save the full amount in cash and second and probably more important, I will hopefully be on sabbatical next fall (I'm a professor) so I'll have plenty of recovery time without having to give up my usual summer beach/pool routine. Here's my dilemma-- I really, REALLY hate my breasts. My husband says I am obsessed with them (I am not- I just don't want to see them uncovered- ha!), and has actually suggested that I go ahead and get them done this summer. This is pretty major, because my husband is kind of a cheapskate and he's never been super excited about either surgery given the cost. The problem is, I've already scheduled my summer pretty tightly and the only time I have available for the breast lift is the second week of August. This leaves me only 2 weeks recovery before I have to go back to work. Given my academic schedule, I really can't take time off for something that is elective, so it's not really an option to extend it. And I can't go earlier because we've rented (and paid for) a beach house for ourselves, our family, and some friends the first week of August and I can't justify cancelling everyone's vacation and eating the money for an elective surgery. I really can't afford both this year, so I would have to split them up into two surgeries, which means two recovery times. Also, I have a genetic disorder that makes anesthetic more risky for me than the average person-- so that's double the risk if I split them. Rationally, as I read this, I'm saying-- duh, it's obvious, wait another year. But man, I hate my breasts and I'm so impatient. What would you do? Breast Lift now, knowing all of the cons (limited recovery time, extra cost to split up the surgeries, extra risk of anasthesia, going through recovery twice) or be patient for another year and do the Lift and the TT together next summer/fall? I would really like to hear from people who've done a lift and can speak to the recovery time/back to work, in addition to anyone else who has an opinion.

I wear a "control" tank under my shirt every single day. Now I feel uncomfortable without one, like I'm flopping around (much like what I feel like without a bra).

I did a consult and when I told him I wanted to lose 30 more lbs (at the time of the consult, I'm halfway there), he told me to wait until I lost the weight. If they do it before you're done losing, they can't guarantee what will happen afterwards-- I think some people end up with unevenness or develop bulges/flaps if they lose a significant amount AFTER surgery. This is a bigger problem with breasts than stomach though.

I do Benefiber in my coffee every morning, plus take a probiotic daily. It seems to do the trick

I'm sorry you're dealing with a weight gain, but try not let it get you down. Your priority now needs to be to figure out how to save the $150 for a fill, even if it means nickle and diming it for a while-- you have a band for a reason and if it's not working for you because it's empty, of course you're likely to regain! I think if you put a plan in place for the "in the meantime", you will have a greater sense of control and accomplishment and something to work toward. If my band was empty, I'd be gaining too-- not because I'm a bad person or a failure, but because without the band I'm incredibly hungry and I eat larger portions. That's why I had to have the dang thing in the first place, and it didn't magically change me (or you!). You can do this!

Lettuce and non-starchy vegetables are "free" (i.e. 0 points). Also, fruit is is 0 points.

Maybe for a half day. I had my surgery on Friday and went back to work on Tuesday for, yes, a half-day. If you can take even one extra day (Monday), it might help.

Yes, I'm right there with you. I've been stuck at 158-160 since September and I really want to maintain at 145. It's so close, but so far away. I've rededicated myself with a few "renewal" rules and I'm trying to (finally) start an exercise program, but it's a whole different ballgame in this BMI range AND it's really easy to feel satisfied right here after weighing so much more for so long!

Sure, but there are so many factors that lead people to seek out food in excess, right? Or are we all really just lazy and too weak to push away from the table? Obesity is a complex disease, one in which we certainly all do our parts to contribute (I'm not going to make excuses there), but I don't think Paula Dean made anyone but her (and maybe her family) obese. And now, like the rest of us, she has consequences associated with it. We're just lucky that no one in the media cares enough about our personal medical history to make us "fess up" in public On that point, I'm glad I'm not a celebrity.

The band definitely helps me with hunger. I hope that it will do the same for you. Part of that was figuring out what was real hunger and what wasn't. For example, my stomach is sometimes VERY noisy to the point other people can hear it (and have joked about it), but the sounds are digestion sounds, not hunger-- and with all of that protein, I bet your stomach is noisy! But yes, to me, part of the job of the band is to reduce hunger and promote feelings of satiation after smaller quantities of food.